Of Snakes, Toads, and Slugs
by fiore777
Summary: Turning this into a series of Sannincentric drabbles, probably primarily of the WAFFy variety.
1. The Present

Turning this into a series of Sannin-centric drabbles, probably primarily of the WAFFy variety.

The Present

Because even the snake Sannin had a birthday.

Note: Hm, let's say they are about 7-years-old for this fic.

* * *

Tsunade and Jiraiya fidget nervously as Orochimaru approaches. It is his custom to not speak first, he simply stares at them. He notices how they have strange dirt smears upon their faces and leaves are tangled in their hair. Eventually his teammates would say what is on their minds. Neither of them are the type to stay silent for long, unlike Orochimaru, who could spend days without talking.

Jiraiya is the first to speak up. "So…today's your birthday, eh?"

The question catches Orochimaru by surprise, he certainly did not expect his teammates to remember the occasion, but he did not let the feeling reach his face.

Before the pale boy could respond, Tsunade elbows Jiraiya in the ribs. The white-haired boy cringes at the action. Tsunade never takes her strength into account when dealing with her teammates. The blonde girl turns to Orochimaru and thrusts a small package into his hand. "What the idiot is trying to say is we got something for you. Happy Birthday."

Jiraiya paused at rubbing the area where Tsunade had hit him, undoubtedly leaving a small bruise. "What she said, figured it would be better than nothing. It isn't like you are going to get something from anyone else, you barely speak to people."

Orochimaru scoffs the idea of requiring presents for becoming another year older. In his view, all it indicates is another year of life gone, never to return. He is alarmed to find out the gift could move and decides taking a look inside could be a hazardous venture. But his teammates are looking at him so hopefully, and although he wants to believe he does not care, they are all he has.

He tugs at the ribbon at the top, unraveling the bow, and carefully peered inside. Small yellow eyes meet his own. His eyes widen when a small form slithers out of the bag and into his hand. It is a tiny white snake, no longer than the length of his arm. He blinks at it curiously and the snake returns the gaze, tongue flickering out to gather the scent of its surroundings. Realizing Tsunade and Jiraiya are still looking at him, Orochimaru glances their way.

"The little critter reminded us of you." Tsunade explains helpfully. The resemblance could be seen easily enough with the golden eyes and ivory scales.

"Yeah, what with you being too pale and quite and it was a damn pain to find, just like you." Jiraiya adds unhelpfully.

So that explains why they were covered in scruffy smudges, Orochimaru notes clinically. Seeking further warmth, the serpentine gift coils around the dark-haired boy's arm. Orochimaru thinks the sensation is strangely pleasant. "At least you two were competent enough to choose a venomless species."

Jiraiya and Tsunade wait for something further. They know their teammate is never fond of spoken pleasantries, but they still expect something.

Orochimaru shifts his attention back to the little white snake, pointedly ignoring the two children.

After a few moments Tsunade breaks the silence, "Um, so we have to go now, you have fun with your present. I—we hope you like it!" She starts to drag off the slightly irked Jiraiya. He thought Orochimaru would at least say something positive to them for once, he guesses he was wrong.

They are several paces away when they hear Orochimaru say softly, "Thank you." But he was gone when they swivel around. They are left wondering if they really did hear him say such a thing.


	2. Touch of Warmth

Touch of Warmth

A chilly day in a cave with the Sannin stranded in a cave.

* * *

It is winter and the cold air nips at their skin, sapping the life from them. The minimal amount of charka necessary to start a fire would not attract attention, but the light from it surely would.

"A lot of good all your research with jutsu is doing us now." Jiraiya wraps his arms around his own shoulders and rubs them for warmth. Orochimaru merely scowls; there were much more important areas of knowledge to delve into. Although, at this point, he would have traded a substantial chunk of his aforementioned knowledge for even a slight increase in temperature.

An odd clicking noise attracts their attention, they glance towards Tsunade, her teeth are chattering. Orochimaru is alarmed to notice how her normally vibrant skin is so pale, almost matching his own color. Inwardly, he cringes at the thought that her use of charka to heal their previous injuries has drained her to the point where her body cannot handle the cold. On the surface the dark-haired boy shows nothing. He reasons that it is Tsunade, she is the strongest person he knows, and a little cold will not kill her.

But Jiraiya has noticed their medic's state as well, and he is not content to just let things be. "Tsunade, I'm not going to try any funny business, so get your ass over here." Jiraiya pull Tsunade over to his other side and hugs her close with one hand.

She lets out a sound of protest and starts pushing herself away, despite how pleasant the warm of his body is. Jiraiya just tightens his grip on her shoulder. "Oh quite it already, would want to go after a boyish brute like you?" Tsunade responded with an elbow in his side, which quickly hushed any further words from the white-haired boy. But the blonde girl stops her struggling and remains still by his side and they grudgingly huddle closer.

Their teammates slides his eyes away from them, the sight of them so close is unsettling. Orochimaru is not prepared to admit that it looks like it could be something that he would want, so instead he settles on the idea that they are weak for needing each other. He watches the snow drift downward outside their cave and wonders how long they will have to remain like this.

Tsunade swings a glare Orochimaru's way. "And you, stop plotting or whatever it is you are doing and get over here. Watching you shiver over there is just making me colder." Orochimaru thinks she only says something because she is embarrassed by her proximity to Jiraiya.

"That's what you get for staring at your books all day and barely spending the time to eat." Jiraiya easily pulls Orochimaru over to his right and wraps his free arm around the shorter boy. "I don't like you and you don't like me, but we are going to get through this because we are a team. Got that?" Jiraiya has always been strangely practical when the need arose. Orochimaru allows the contact because he tells himself it would be too much trouble to draw himself away once again.

Orochimaru takes the time to organize the thoughts in his mind, detracting attention from the biting cold. The rough fabric of Jiraiya's shirt brushes by his hand and he frowns. He decides the next jutsu he develops will be a method to create lightless heat. As Jiraiya begins humming to fill the silence Orochimaru decides the second task would be to kill his irritating teammate. But for now he sits and absorbs the body heat given off by the other boy.


End file.
